For a more sophisticated design, add a bit of contrast to the texture or finish in your bead choices. The rough lava rounds make a nice contrast to the smooth sparkle of most of the beads. I've also mixed gunmetal and silver findings.

Incorporate similar elements in more than one strand to make them "go together" and look less random. For example, two of the strands use different types of gunmetal chain.

Use a neckform to layer the necklaces as you work to make sure that they look the way you want when layered. I made my layers fairly distinct, but if you look at fashion magazines, you'll see that some layered necklaces are meant to look more tangled with overlapping strands.

The Hidden Secret

This necklace has a secret. I've added lobster clasps to the ends of each of the necklaces, making it possible to wear them alone (just connect the lobster clasps to each other) or attach them in any number and combination to the multistrand bar clasp. You can also attach the lobster clasps to chain links or jump rings, as I did with the beaded aqua strand.

This would be a great type of necklace to take with you on vacation. You could wear some form of it every day and never get bored!

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

There are times to concentrate on perfecting your masterpiece and times to let your creative spirit take you to new places.

If you're a writer, it's easy to see this division: write, then edit. (Or if you want to take it to the extreme, write drunk and edit sober.) Author Lois Duncan described the process of writing rough drafts in her book How to Write and Sell Your Personal Experiences like this: "Like an athlete approaching a high jump, I have no time to think about being beautiful; I am trying to pick up enough speed to sail over the bar."

For jewelry designers, the creating and editing process is often jumbled together as you swap out beads and findings on your design board. It feels harder to cut apart a completed necklace than to delete a paragraph that isn't working. To avoid the editing phase, maybe you never pull out your pliers so you don't chance making an imperfect wire wrap. Or maybe you dive into production work, recreating those "safe" designs over and over instead of experimenting with something new. It's tempting to deliberately avoid inspiration that might take you down the path of the unknown, but sometimes that is exactly what you need.

Over the weekend I started reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, the August book for the Inspired by Reading book club. It's the story of a magical circus in Victorian times. Honestly, when I picked up the book from the library I assumed it wouldn't be my type of novel. I never would've read it if it hadn't been on the book list. So it was a delightful surprise to find the story enchanting so far. (I'm about halfway through.) I've been flooded with jewelry ideas from the themes and images in this book. I don't remember the last time I found so much inspiration in a single work. I'm feeling joyful and hopeful and excited to try something new. I'm not the least bit worried about my footwork. Yet.

About this image: I created this image using a photo of Jocelyn Vollmar taken in 1947. The photo is from The National Library of Australia and is in the public domain.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

I rarely start my designs with a random color palette. I'm much more likely to begin with a theme. When I saw the varied color palettes in the submission guidelines for Create Jewelry, I wanted to challenge myself to try some new-to-me color combinations. I sent several submissions way back in January. Ironically, the one the editors accepted used a palette of earthy browns that I use all the time in my work! The Inspiration Behind My Bangle Bracelet

One reason I don't make many bracelets is that most bracelets need to be precisely sized to fit well. Bangles that just slip over the wrist are one exception. I love the channel-style bangles from Nunn Design, but most of the jewelry I've seen made with them are mixed media (resin, clay, etc.). I love mixed media, but sometimes I don't have time to wait a day or more for a piece of jewelry to set. I wanted to use the bangle to make a simple, quick strung design that could be done and worn in less than an hour.

I'm enamored by the metallic leather cord I've found at Michaels. It's easy to knot and has a subtle sheen. Wood beads are a great choice for knotting on leather because of their large holes. Ceramic beads work well, too. I especially love handmade porcelain beads by Gaea and I've included two of them in this bracelet.

This particular button with its intricate design inspired the name of the bracelet. You can find a huge selection of buttons at fabric stores. I often stock up when they go on sale.

A stack of these bracelets would look great with a bohemian-style outfit this summer.

Check out all 50 jewelry designs in this latest issue of Create Jewelry. In addition to the projects, there's a nice feature on coloring metals with spray paint, vinegar and salt, alcohol ink, nail polish, liver of sulfur, gilder's paste, and embossing powder. All methods are relatively straightforward and don't require too many materials.

Friday, July 17, 2015

I've decided to hold an annual summer sale to help clear out extra inventory in my shop and start fresh for the fall/winter season. Frankly, my house is a bit of a mess. I have handmade items spread out on three tables in three different rooms. Ideally, I'd love to sell enough that I can have one or two of those tables free to use for other things like eating dinner.

Of course, the other big reason I wanted to have a big sale was to reward my fabulous customers with some extra special deals. Thank you for all your support over the last few years! I hope you find some great gifts for your loved ones ... and yourself!

Newsletter subscribers received an email before the sale started this morning so that they could get a jump on it. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter if you want advance notice of any future sales.

What's On Sale?

I've marked down (40% off!) 150+ ready-to-ship handmade items in my Etsy shop including selected notecards, gift packaging, jewelry, keychains, and Christmas ornaments. There are many one-of-a-kind items in the mix that won't be offered again once they sell out. These are the lowest prices you'll see in my shop this year, so if you want something, don't wait!

Three Days Only

Discounted items are in the "Sale" directory in my Etsy shop for easy browsing; they're also listed at Etsy on Sale.

Sale prices are already marked. You'll see both the original price crossed off and the new, lower price listed. If you don't see a price in red (or any listings at all), then either the item is not on sale or you are viewing this blog post after the sale ended on the 19th.

Bonus coupon: Spend $45 or more and take $5 off with the coupon code JULY2015. Remember to enter the code at checkout!

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

"Becoming slim by design works better than trying to become slim by willpower. That is, it's easier to change your eating environment than to change your mind. It's easier to move your candy dish across the room than to resist it when it's on your desk." — Slim By Design by Brian Wansink, Ph. D.

In his book Slim By Design, Cornell University researcher Brian Wansink asserts that you may lose a pound a month just by making some small changes in the places you eat or shop for food the most. A pound of month isn't a lot; the exciting part is that it requires so little effort and thought. I found this book fascinating. I'm the type of person who loves knowing the psychology behind why we do the things we do. I'd never really thought about how the design of a restaurant menu might cause me to order certain dishes or why it matters whether I put the apples on the counter in a bowl or in the crisper in the refrigerator.

About the Book

This book is packed with studies that Brian and his team have conducted in private homes, grocery stores, restaurants, schools, and work places. He's worked with major companies like Nabisco (he pitched that "100 calorie pack" idea to them), the USDA, school systems, the military, celebrities and ordinary people. Visual types will be happy to know that in addition to the text, the book includes some simple drawings showing how different room layouts can impact eating. For example, moving a salad bar in a high school cafeteria to a center space instead of against a back wall increased the number of students eating salad at lunch.

At the end of the chapters on home, restaurants, supermarkets, workplaces, and lunchrooms, you can fill out scorecards to see how well those places encourage or discourage healthy eating. (There's a mini version on Brian's website if you want to get a snapshot of how your home is working for or against you.)

What I Liked Best

While some suggestions aren't practical (I'm not going to run out and buy a different kind of refrigerator), many of them are quite easy, such as having a fruit bowl on the counter. I found it refreshing that the author doesn't believe in outlawing certain foods. Instead, he advocates making the healthier choice the easier one. For example, it's quite common for schools to try to ban chocolate milk because it contains more sugar than plain white milk. What schools don't seem to understand is that by banning chocolate milk, kids aren't going to automatically choose white milk. Some will drink soda instead! Instead, he recommends that the chocolate milk be made less convenient by moving it to the back of the cooler or in a different place in the line. It's still there, but kids now have to decide if they'd like to spend some of their lunch waiting in line for chocolate milk or using that extra time to hang out with their friends.

What I Learned

Here's a sample of the kinds of things I learned in this book:

The more you hang out in your kitchen, the more you eat. Take out the TV set and the comfortable chairs.

My wooden kitchen chairs don't have padded seat cushions. They're not uncomfortable, but I definitely would rather sit on the sofa if I want to relax.

When slimmer people visit a buffet, they look at everything and decide what to get before they even pick up a plate.

I've always done that and thought maybe it was because I was a picky eater. Who knew this was good eating behavior?

Work place gyms aren't the solution. It's better for companies to make changes so that you're forced to move more.

I've never worked at a place with a gym, but when I worked at Interweave, I had to park several blocks away from the building. I often had to attend meetings on different floors or even in different buildings. I walked quite a bit during the course of a normal work day. (The new building is a relatively small single-story building with a parking lot right outside. I wonder if the current employees have noticed the health difference?)

The wider the grocery store aisle, the more you'll buy.

This makes perfect intuitive sense to me. Have you ever shopped when the store is so crowded that you can hardly get down the aisle without bumping into someone? I try to get out as quickly as possible when that happens. If stores want to encourage sales of healthy items, they'll make those the widest aisles. (My grocery store, by the way, has a very wide aisle for the potato chips.)

More Reading (Or Listening)

I first heard about the book Slim By Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life by Brian Wansink, Ph.D. on the NPR show The Splendid Table. You can listen to the segment "5 Things You Can Do At Home To Avoid Overeating" on their website or read a few of the author's tips.

I've already made a few changes to my home such as rearranging the items in my refrigerator. I'm curious to see if this works for me. As someone who works at home just steps from the kitchen, I know that I have to be extra careful about mindless eating.

If you've read this book, I'd love to hear what you think. Have you tried changing your eating environment as a result?